Paul_Hedley

Thanks chaps. One to keep an eye on then, but probably not to hugely worry about. I'll have another look when I'm next under the car, and see if it has moved/undone at all before worrying much more about it. Cheers. Paul

I had my speedo on my 97 car randomly stop working on Thursday, and on investigating under the car today found that the angle drive was no longer connected. At all. It was just hanging. Screwing it back on has got me back to a working speedo again, but there did seem to be quite a lot of play in the connection with the cable into the socket on the back of the gearbox. Is this how it's supposed to be, or might I have a failed circlip or something which has resulted in the vibration/movement working it loose? Thanks Paul

Ah - that could well be right. I think that at some point in the history of the car, it had some sort of traction control system - there's a dial switch to the right of the steering wheel which we think was something to do with that. Thanks for all of your thoughts. Paul

Further investigation revealed that whatever sensors these are, they weren't actually connected to anything (hence the lack of any actual wire in one not being a problem). I couldn't see any magnets, so I suspect these were brake pad/disc wear indicators at some point in the past life of the car, though here's a pic of the two sensors (one of which broke as I was removing it). Any thoughts? Gone now - the diet my car seems to be on is losing substantial weight in wire at the moment (some of it pretty badly installed, as per the cable tie to a drop link, and running a main battery wire along moving suspension parts .....) Thanks Paul

I was finally able this afternoon to get the car up on axle stands, and get underneath to do a bit of a visual inspection. There are electrical wires that run through the transmission tunnel, then out to the brake discs at the rear, one of which is barely still there. Can anyone tell me what these are for (I'm guessing it's something to do with the brake fail warning system) and what part I might need to replace at least the one that is failing? It doesn't seem to be far from the connector on the chassis to the wheel, so it's not a long section. Thanks Paul

Thanks for all of your input guys. It turned out to be a shot battery. First voltage check this morning showed overcharging (13.7v), but as soon as it was asked to do anything, voltage dropped to just over 8v. Not surprising that it wouldn't start. Seems much happier now with it's nice new RMD-25, though I did have to do a bit of creative rerouting of wires (and extending one) to get things fitting neatly.

Thanks. That does look to be a good place to start, and thanks for that pointer to the recent thread which my searches hadn't pulled up. If it does turn out to be at least in part down to a dying/dead battery, is just replacing the Banner with a Banner the way to go, or do people recommend alternatives (Ultramax, Oddesey, Varley etc). Paul

I have a non-starting problem with my '97 k-series supersport, but one which I haven't had before. The car does suffer from k click, and I have bought the wherewhithal to do the relay mod, but given building work at our house, and the car 'staying' at my parents over an hour away (just outside Coventry), I haven't yet had the chance to fit it. I went to their place on saturday to pick up the car, it having been stationary since mid December, (though on a battery conditioner) with the following results: 1. First attempt - v sluggish part turnover, but no 'fire'. Not unexpected. 2. second attempt - even less turnover, even more sluggish response. OK, I thought - fluids and lubricants are just cold, including the battery - I'll just jump start it from the tin top. 3. third attempt - jump start. No response at all. Not even turning over the engine. Now I get the odd click from the relays, but nothing else. I did the patented 'rocking' but with no result. 4. fourth attempt - OK - bump start should work, as that should force the engine to turn over and get past the moment of inertia. Nothing doing. At the point of dropping the clutch, the car just pulled up, and I couldn't get the engine to even turn over. Being short of time by this point, I gave up and put it back in their garage. I'm planning to go up there at the end of this week, to see what I can discover before calling out the RAC if I have to. Any pointers as to where I should be looking, and what diagnostics I can run would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks Paul

Just to update people who kindly posted here to assist - it was a head gasket failure, but not in the place that such things normally fail, sorted out for me by James Whiting. All of the coolant was emulsified with oil turning it into horrid sticky goo which was a pig to clean out, but the car is now back to health, having also had the original nylon dowels replaced and the cooling system modified. Cheers Paul

well although past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future performance, my car is also a 1997 k series supersport .... I think I'll be making some phone calls tomorrow. Paul

Thanks Jonathan. I guess if I unscrew the thermostat from the rad I can put it in hot water to check its operation, assuming that's how that one works. I can't see anything amiss with the wiring. I guess draining the collant is not too tricky (though disposal of the stuff may be more so, if threads on here are accurate in my local area). Is flushing the system just a case of filling with suitable stuff something then emptying again? Thanks Paul

I think I now know what my problem is, but I'm not sure of the best way to tackle it. About 10 days ago, on a 90min journey, my engine was running rather hot, particularly in traffic, and the fan was not coming on. Having put the car away after that, it haven't moved since, but I've had two goes at trying to find the problem. The fan is working (I checked with the trick of connecting the terminals together on the radiator thermostat) but is not coming on when temp rises at idle. On opening the coolant reservoir, it seemed rather low, so I topped it up. Everything got hot on running (hoses at bottom and top of rad etc) but still no fan, and temp climbing. I went back to it today, with the purpose ot trying to clear any airlocks in the system that might be leaving the radiator thermostat in an airlock which would explain why it wasn't kicking in. However, on opening the reservoir again, some of the contents seemed to be rather gloupy, and sort of browny/yellow in colour. Bit odd, I thought. So I jacked the front of the car up to try to get the top of the rad above the heater, as per instructions here, intending to run the car and manipulate hoses to get rid of the airlock. the yellowy gloup was then also coming out of the radiator bleed valve (see photo). http://www.beata.org.uk/coolant.jpg Does this look like emulsified oil in the coolant pointing at a deeper problem? Head gasket? Would that also explain why the rad fan isn't coming on, is is that likely to be a different issue (failed thermostat)? I'm guessing I need to get the car to someone to be seen to, and probably not driven there either. Any input here would be welcome - I suspect I'm rather out of my depth. Thanks Paul

Just so everyone is clear, it's not the light operation which is now my problem (the fog is working both on dip and main beam). It's the tell-tale on the switch that is now the problem from the point of view of the MOT. Paul

That does indeed look like the switch in question, though my switch (not the loom connections) has 4 terminals on the back. I can't find anywhere what those terminals might do, and if they might be useful in this situation. The side spades are indeed illumination, hence me looking at Jonty's mod so that the illumination only works when the switch is in the 'on' position rather than being illuminated all the time. On a slightly different subject, there seems to be quite a bit of hostility towards scotchlocks. Has anyone used Posi-taps for this sort of thing (or indeed for the famous k-series relay mod)? http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/crimp-butt-splice-terminals/6666022/ They look like a nice product for tapping into an existing wire in this sort of fashion. I've used their Posi-twist connectors before as an alternative to crimp ones (they are removable and claim to be waterproof, if you buy the sealed ones). Any other blatchat experience here? Thanks Paul

Thanks for this comment - I seem to recall when I swapped the switch that there are only two terminals being used in the block with 4 (I think) coming out of the switch. I'll have a play with an earth wire, as that would be a better solution than keying into existing wiring, and less 'heath robinson' than a sticker! Paul

Indeed but I can't work out what they mean by that. Maybe a coloured sticker on the top edge of the switch would suffice. Thanks Paul

Some progress. After much fiddling about it seems that the problem was at the switch end. CC sent me a replacement switch which means I have working fog but it doesn't have a tell-tale which I think is still an mot fail. I feel an wiring mod coming on A la Jonty Lyons to take the fog switch off the normal dash illumination and to only light when the fog is on. Thanks for all of your help - I certainly understand the wiring (and some more general electrickery) better than I did. Paul

I've known for a while what my rear fog was not working, but hadn't got round to investigating properly until this afternoon (MOT due!). I made some progress, but have hit something that I really don't understand. With the light not working, it seemed sensible to put the multimeter across the connections on the light unit as a starting point, and then trace wires back if necessary looking for any short/damage along the main wiring run. However, I get a (slightly fluctuating - to be expected I guess) 10.5v-11v at the terminals going into the light unit. Voltage is slightly higher when the engine is running, unsurprisingly. I assumed therefore that all was well in the wiring run. However, with what visually is a working bulb (I've tried several, including the working one from the reversing light on the other side) I never get a lit bulb. Even measuring the voltage across the plates on the light unit (i.e. where the bulb connections would be) I still get that 10.5v but no light. As soon as there is a bulb in the circuit, no go. It doesn't seem to be the connections either (though they did need a tweak to make proper contacts with the bulb). I think I'm right in saying that the earth is shared with the rear lights, so I've cleaned that up, and the rear number plate light seems to be fine too (other posts indicate that the two often fail together). As a non electrickery person, I'm stumped as to what the problem might be, or what to try next? Any pointers would be gratefully received. Cheers Paul

Thanks - if it is, I'd be interested. Paul

Rob, That would be great - I should have specified de dion in my post really, thinking about it. where are you based? Cheers Paul

Does anyone have any unwanted 14in wheels to fit some 196/60/R14 yokos? 2 would be enough. Thanks Paul

It was the solenoid stuck it seems, and in disconnecting the contacts to given them a clean, I heard it return. Progress - at least in the sense of being back where is was. Thanks for your help Paul

Thanks for this - useful feedback on the Bosch in particular. Battery conditioner is tricky, as I have no power in my garage. Haven't quite sorted a way to hook up to my solar panel lighting to do this job yet, though it is on the list. Paul

Thanks Roger. I might put my overalls on in a bit and see what I can discover .... I've been thinking about the relay mod anyway, so perhaps this is the time. Paul

My car has been suffering for a while from the well documented k-click, and the addition of a heatshield hasn't helped. This morning, it got worse. A lot worse. On getting the car out, the starter engaged, engine turned over, but didn't start. Nothing terribly new there - it doesn't always start first time. However, on releasing the key from the ignition position, the starter (at least I assume the starter) kept on spinning, seemingly freely and unengaged. Worse still, I couldn't stop it, except by taking out the battery master switch. On re-inserting the BMS, it starts spinning again. Not sure what to do about that. Might this be a relay problem? Clearly it needs looking at by someone who has rather more technical knowledge than I have, and being not too far away from Millwood I will probably take it there (they are suggesting a Bosch starter motor to replace the OEM one - I know others here recommend the Brise item). However, my problem is how. If I can't stop the starter spinning, I can't even jump/bump start the car to drive it there. I may be able to borrow a trailer, but unless said trailer has a winch, getting it onto the trailer with muscle alone doesn't sound like much fun. Any ideas (on either problem) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Paul